It is the fourth time Barcelona will host a Spanish Cup final. Real Madrid won it there back in 1970 over Valencia.

There is no more debate on which venue will host the Copa del Rey final, the Spanish Football Federation has selected Camp Nou. Athletic Club and Barcelona will meet the previously mentioned venue on Saturday May 30.

It is a tradition that the final of this tournament is played on neutral grounds, but it is not always the case. Camp Nou has hosted the game three times and last time it did Los Cules won it by a score of 3-1 over Zaragoza in 1963.

The over 98,000 seats are expected to be sold out for this game.The over 95,000 seats are expected to be sold out for this game.When Atletico Madrid knocked Real Madrid out of the competition this year, it opened the door for the Santiago Bernabeu to host the game. When Barcelona reached the final, Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez made it impossible for that to happen. 

Josep Maria Bartomeu (Barcelona's chief) was eager to push for his team to play the final in Madrid’s territory. He even was open on discussing the issue in the presidents’ traditional lunch ahead of last Sunday’s game between Madrid and Barcelona.

Athletic Club was also interested in visiting the Bernabeu for such a special occasion. Madrid’s main reason to oppose this idea was because they did not want Los Cules to be crowned champions in their stadium. Real Madrid has done so in Camp Nou. In 1970, they won the Spanish Cup over Valencia (3-1).

Another reason is mainly political. Both teams playing in the final are from regions opposed to Spain’s overall ideologies. People from the Catalan and Basque regions would not be warmly welcomed in Madrid’s most iconic stadium.

Athletic Bilbao was the first winner of this cup back in 1903. They have won it 23 times since then. Barcelona has 26 Copa del Rey championships, after winning it for a last time in 2012 against Bilbao (3-0) in the Vicente Calderon.

Barcelona won its last Spanish Cup title in 2012Barcelona won its last Spanish Cup title in 2012